Erin go craic

By Ben Olson
Reader Staff

At one point in history, slang was regarded as the vocabulary of disreputable people, with those in high society refraining from such low speech.

Today, everyone from street urchins to billionaires speaks slang; and, since St. Patrick’s Day is looming around the corner, we thought our readers might like to know some Irish terms to bellow at their barmates on that hallowed day of debauchery.

Craic

This is without a doubt the most well known, but rarely understood, Irish slang word. Pronounced “crack,” craic means, simply, fun.

It can be a fun, flowing conversation, good times and good company. It can sometimes mean breaking social rules, being mischievous or getting up to no good (but it falls short of breaking laws).

Irish purists claim you always have “the craic,” not “a craic.”

“What’s the craic, ye half eejit? Ready to get trollied?” Generative AI.

Irish people will often greet others with, “What’s the craic?” which is equivalent to, “How are you?” in the U.S. It isn’t intended to be used literally.

A common phrase used in Ireland and found on the outside of pubs is “craic agus ceol,” which means “live music and good fun.” Also, if something is no fun at all, they might say it’s “minus craic.”

Usage:

“How was the party last night?”

“It was the absolute solid craic. Craic central, by god.”

Grand

When someone asks, “How are you?” in the U.S., people will often respond, “fine,” even if they’re not. In Ireland, they’ll use “grand.”

This is not to be confused with the British usage of “grand,” which means “royal” or “fancy.” Grand in Ireland basically means par or average, or not bad.

Usage:

“Howaya?”

“Oh, grand.”

Yoke

In the U.S., we sometimes use the word “doohickey” as a noun substitute for a word we can’t quite remember. In Ireland, they use “yoke.”

Usage: 

“Hey lad, can you hand me that yoke there?”

Slagging

Slagging is a foundational part of Irish culture, and it generally means riffing or joking around in a friendly, gentle manner. 

While at first glance, it might seem that Irish people are constantly insulting one another, they’re merely slagging. Irish people might slag tourists on their accent, or their funny expressions. They usually mean no offense — it’s just a friendly gesture. 

Note: While slag means joking around in Ireland, it has quite a different connotation in England, where it means a woman who has experienced many sexual partners.

‘How’s she cuttin’?’

This light greeting derives from the agricultural foundation of Ireland, and literally asks about the state of your plough or grass-cutting equipment.

‘Ye half eejit ye’

When someone isn’t quite a full eejit (“idiot”), but might act like half of one.

‘You’re an awful snake’

Pronounce snake as “shnaake” in this expression, which means, “You’re quite a sneaky person, but I like it.”

The jacks

In the U.S., we call our bathroom facilities a “John” or we’ll sit on the “throne,” but in Ireland they refer to restrooms as “the Jacks,” as in, “Where are your jacks?”

Rhyming slang

Irish people love to rhyme their slang words, with a few examples being: 

Stall the ball

A playful way to ask someone to slow down: “Can you stall the ball — we need to get a photo by this yoke.”

Mae West

This means “best,” as in, “I’m not feeling the Mae West today.”

Cream crackered

This means exhausted, and it rhymes with another Irish slang word, “knackered” which means tired.

Sound as a pound

Basically means, “It’s all good.” This expression might be used for someone to describe a friend who is helpful or a good soul.

Dryshite

Someone who is boring and no fun at all.

‘I will yeah’

This is Irish sarcasm, because when you hear an Irish person say, “I will yeah,” it usually always means, “I definitely will not.”

‘Acting the maggot’

To fool or mess around.

Culchie or blogger

A culchie or blogger is someone who lives in a remote part of Ireland. Those living in Dublin tend to refer to anyone living outside the capital as one of these terms. A U.S. equivalent might be “hillbilly.”

‘Now we’re suckin’ diesel!’

This means making progress, as in, “I couldn’t motivate myself earlier this morning, but now we’re really suckin’ diesel!”

Drinking terms

Ireland has a lot of slang for drinking booze or getting drunk. Often they’ll just add “-ed” to the end of practically any word to get across the same meaning. Scuttered means being blind drunk, but they might also say, “buckled,” “locked,” “hammered,” “trollied,” “plastered” and so on. Langers is an expression for being drunk, as is “on the lash.”

Naggins and shoulders are sizes of spirit bottles, typically vodka. While a shoulder might get you scuttered, a naggin is perfect for sneaking into a pub.

‘Top o’ the morn’!’

Irish people never say this phrase and you shouldn’t either, unless you want to come across as a daft eejit.